Fisherman's Wharf 2

Lots of people, especially families with children, like to come to Fisherman's Wharf to feed the seals. There are otters too, a couple of them, and the seals seem to be getting more numerous - I counted six when I was there the other day. These are "wild" Harbour Seals but they seem to have learned that the spectators enjoy being splashed. They splash the people and the people throw food to them. Everybody's happy.

Walkway Wildlife 2

Just a little way down from where I saw yesterday's racoon I spotted this pair fishing off this rock. I especially like to see these River Otters because they are very sensitive to pollution and are a good sign that these waters are relatively clean. Although I grew up on the west coast (Vancouver) I don't recall seeing so much wildlife when I was a child. In fact I don't recall seeing any wildlife in the parts of the city where we lived. It may have been that I was not very observant as a child or possibly Vancouver simply lacked the wild animals that I regularly see here in Victoria. Another possibility is that people may have begun to adopt a less aggressive attitude towards wild animals and so they are becoming more numerous and visible. I hope that is the case.

Otter Breakfast

This is the same otter as pictured yesterday, a few minutes later. He climbed out onto the rocky shore in order to enjoy quite a large fish he had caught. It was still flopping about and it took more than a few bites with those sharp teeth to kill it. Otters are social animals and you can see another otter swimming on the right in the background.

North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis)

It always gives me a thrill to see wildlife here in the city and it has been some time since I was privileged to sight an otter. Although he was swimming yesterday in the salt water near the shoreline along the Westsong Walkway, he's a North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis) and not a Sea Otter. Sea Otters are found in the coastal waters of Vancouver Island but not in the Victoria area. I particularly like to see otters because they are sometimes used as an indicator of pollution - they are very sensitive to pollution.